This invention relates to a catheter for medical application, and more particularly to a catheter designed for a specific function.
It is known that a catheter is generally intended to be used for the drainage of physiological and medicinal liquids from human body organs in various surgical fields, such as, for example, urology, in connection with renal or vesical fluxes, gastroenterology, with expulsion of pus mixed with blood, and neurosurgery, with expulsion of cerebral liquids interposed between the convolution walls and the parietal wall. The presence of these liquids could result in preoperative and postoperative complications.
Conventionally, drainage is performed by a catheter made of a silicone material or the like having a certain degree of elasticity and the shape of a conduit. Introduction of such a catheter into the orifice of the human body, however, requires the application of a lubricant film, usually of petroleum jelly, onto the catheter outer surface to facilitate the introduction of the catheter to avoid painfully traumatizing the patient by friction during insertion.
However, the presence of the lubricant film causes a serious complication. The interstice formed between the inner surface of the orifice and the outer surface of the conduit is quite small and stasis of the fluids being drained can occur therein. Also, a scarcity of oxygen arises within this small interstice. Both liquid stasis and scarcity of oxygen can promote the growth of bacteria, resulting in dangerous infections.